


colder on the inside

by lyricallyharley



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Blood, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, apocolypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28210740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyricallyharley/pseuds/lyricallyharley
Summary: A strong wind alone shouldn't suggest that something isn't quite right. That is the beginning, but a perfect idyllic night for Dan and Phil somehow devolves into a nightmare where nothing is as it should be, a night where the impossible happens.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14
Collections: Phandom Holiday Gift Exchange 2020





	colder on the inside

**Author's Note:**

> This was a gift for the lovely @sarcasm-addiction on tumblr!

It’s cold, too cold to be shopping. Dan would rather be at home cuddling Phil with a warm blanket and some hot chocolate, but instead they’re here. 

They were nearly home when Dan had spotted a specific candle he’d seen online earlier, and he figured one more stop wouldn’t hurt them. They’re almost home, after all.

“I can’t feel my god damn face.” He hisses as someone opens the door to the shop, a harsh gust of wind following them. “Come on, let’s get away from the door.”

“You’re the one who suggested we come in here.” Phil laughs as he’s pulled into a random isle. “Let’s just make it quick.”

“Yeah.” Dan agrees. 

“Should we get some advent calendars while we’re here?” Phil asks, pointing to the shelf lined with differently themed calendars.

Dan shrugs, taking a quick look at the options in front of him before grabbing a candle themed one. Phil takes a little longer, scanning each box’s design until one catches his eye in particular.

"I thought we were doing the candle ones this year?" Dan asks.

"You can do the candles,” Phil suggests. “and I can do the dog chocolates."

Dan laughs, a little louder than he had intended to.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Oh, come on! That's a good idea!"

"Dogs can't eat chocolate, Phil!"

"Oh" He giggles. “Right. My bad.”

They head over to the line to check out when a noise catches Dan’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asks him.

“It’s…”

The sound of howling wind. It distracts Dan and causes his words to fade into silence as he turns to face the source of the noise. It’s unusual, and sudden. It had been dead silent when they were outside, but now the wind is all Dan can hear. 

Phil’s voice sounds muffled next to him. He’s about to turn and ask him to repeat what he said, but before he can the sound of one of the shop windows shattering has everyone dropping to the floor, along with a few yelps from customers. 

Dan and Phil exchange a look of horror as they hide behind a shelf. Dan brings his finger to his lips before peeking out from their hiding spot to see what’s going on.

What he sees, is a girl lying on the floor, a visible pool of blood forming under her. 

He looks around for any indication of how she got there, but he’s met with nothing but confused glances.

“Fuck.” Dan gets out, getting up and running towards the girl. 

She’s small, couldn’t be very old. Her black hair is messy and sticking to her face, which looks pained, but it remains still. 

“What happened?” Phil asks. Dan is about to tell Phil to stay back, but the gasp he hears from him tells him that it’s too late for that.

“Jesus.” Phil whispers. “How…”

“I don’t know.” Dan says, pressing two fingers against the pulse point on the girl’s neck. “Here, help me stop the bleeding. She’s still breathing.”

Phil quickly shrugs his jacket off and hands it to Dan. Their hands are shaking as they tie it around the girl’s waist. Not that they could blame themselves, the gash is deep and Phil was always queasy around blood. 

That’s when Dan remembers that there are other people in the store.

“Can we get some help here?” Dan shouts. He reaches into his pocket to grab his phone, ready to call for an ambulance, when he looks up and any rational thought he had leaves his mind.

No one is moving. No one is calling anyone, or looking for a first aid kit. Everyone in the room is horribly, eerily still.

“Hello!?” Dan shouts again. “What the fuck is going on?”

Phil ushers him to his feet, pulling him away from the girl as if she’s poison.

“What are you-”

Phil shushes him before he can finish, and that’s when he sees it.

The girl is moving.

They stand there, stunned. Dan’s eyes flicker to Phil’s just in time to see him drop the chocolates. He doesn’t even bother picking them up, he’s too focused on the girl, who seems to be effortlessly standing up despite the massive gash in her stomach.

“What the fuck.” Dan whispers slowly.

Phil is silent, but Dan has the mind to stop him from reaching out to grab the girl’s attention.

“Phil, no.” He whisper-shouts.

“She’s still got a wound. She's probably in pain." Phil protests.

“She doesn’t bloody look in pain!” Dan argues.

 _Like a zombie._ He thinks.

But that’s impossible. Zombies aren’t real. These people can’t possibly be undead…

...can they?

The girl doesn’t respond. Her stare is blank, almost inhuman. She takes a few steps towards Dan, causing him to jump back and grab for Phil who’s standing behind him. She stares right through him, as if he isn’t even standing there. He realizes then that her eyes are definitely darker than before. It’s captivating. He and Phil are frozen in place, starstruck at the laser-like look this girl is giving.

Then she turns around.

And when Dan and Phil tear their stares away to look at everyone else, that’s when the reality sets in.

All of the customers in the store are watching the girl, as if waiting for direction. They’re in the same state, blank stares, immobile bodies, unaware of their surroundings.

Dan turns around to look at Phil, who’s visibly shaken. Even though he’s relieved that he’s okay, seeing him this scared makes his heart ache with anger. 

Phil’s eyes are wide as he looks back at Dan, like he’s asking him if he knows what is happening. Dan shakes his head quickly, reaching out for his arm and keeping him behind him as he turns back to the crowd of seemingly lifeless people.

It’s too much for him to wrap his head around.

When his vision stops spinning he’s hyper aware of two things.

One - His pounding headache.

Two - All of the people who were previously oblivious to his and Phil’s existence, now staring directly at them.

“Phil.” Dan mumbles. The name feels numb on his lips. He’s already said it so many times yet he feels like he can’t say it enough in this moment.

There’s only one thing on his mind that makes any amount of sense.

_Get out._

“Phil we need to leave.” Dan says, grabbing his hand. He tugs once, but Phil doesn’t budge.

“Phil!” He says again, louder. He means for it to sound assertive, but the emotion lodged in the back of his throat makes him choke on his words, and it comes out as more of a plea.

Finally, Phil’s brain seems to start processing the situation again, and he runs. They run towards the door and throw all their weight against the handle, only for it to not move.

“Is it a pull?” Phil asks desperately.

“No it’s a push.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s a goddamn push!” Dan cries. Slamming his entire body against it, only for Phil to pull him away from it and latch onto him from behind. Dan looks around, frantic to locate an escape.

That’s when he looks back to the smashed window.

“The window, Phil, the window!”

They don’t waste a second this time. They bolt for the window, grimacing at the sound of the cracking glass under their shoes. 

The hole in the window is plenty big enough for them to fit through. Phil’s already ahead, climbing up and diving off on the other side, turning around to grab Dan’s hand.

It’s only when it’s too late that Phil notices the shard of glass still sticking out of the side. Dan can already feel the sharp pain in his arm before either of them can say a word.

“Aw, fuck!” He sucks in a large breath and holds it as his hand flies over to the gash on his forearm, squeezing his eyes shut in pain.

“Shit.” Phil breathes, helping Dan climb the rest of the way.

His eyes flicker back to the window. He sees his own blood stained on the edges of the glass. He doesn’t pay it much mind, but for some reason, the image sticks.

What he also sees, is the group of lifeless people chasing after them. His breath catches in his throat.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Dan yells, holding his hand against his arm as Phil takes hold of his free hand and leads the way.

Dan thinks he’s never run this fast before. He can feel the adrenaline rushing through his blood as hot pain courses through his entire body. It’s too much, but he can’t stop. He doesn't even look to find help, not willing to test his luck with any strangers at the moment.

He’s had adrenaline rushes before, and he’s been in many fight or flight situations before.

Just none like this.

They can’t stop to contemplate how their entire reality has just been turned on its head. There’s no time to dissect it, not time to come to terms with it, only time to run.

They turn every corner they can until they’re positive they’ve lost the people chasing them, and they don’t stop running until they’ve made it to their apartment.

Dan fishes his keys out of his pocket once they make it up the stairs. His hands refuse to stay still enough, and Phil can’t seem to stay still either so he snatches the keys from Dan and manages to get the door unlocked for them.

“Lock everything.” Dan tells him. “We need to fucking hide.”

“Haven’t we lost them?” Phil reminds him, his voice clearly that of someone who’s hanging onto hope by a thread. He wants Dan to tell him he thanks that they’re safe, but deep inside, he knows he can’t. His voice gives that away.

Dan doesn’t even need to answer before Phil turns around and locks the door behind him.

It helps that they’re already notoriously careful people to begin with. All of the windows are already locked, as well as the sliding door to the balcony. Dan rushes around the house, drawing all the blinds and closing all the curtains, turning off any lights he finds in his path.

“Dan.” Phil calls.” Come to the bathroom. We need to take care of your arm.”

Dan is about to argue with him, but there isn’t much he can say so he complies. All they can do is pretend not to be home and hope for the best, and he hates that.

He darts up the stairs, cursing himself under his breath at the loud noise it makes. He doesn’t need to ask to know which bathroom Phil is in, and the less they yell the better. Once he finds him he closes the door behind him and closes his eyes.

He can’t even get any more words out, he just releases the breath he’d been holding in and leans back against the door, sliding down until he’s sitting on the floor, and then the tears start running down his face.

He can faintly hear Phil’s voice, but he can’t make it out. It’s all too much for him. The nerves in his body are calming down and letting all the thoughts enter his mind again, and he hates them all. He hates that he doesn’t know what is happening, he hates that he can’t make sense of the world around him, he hates that he has no idea what to do to protect Phil. He fucking hates all of it.

“Dan, Dan.” He hears Phil’s voice a bit more clearly now. The tears don’t stop, but he lets himself fall into Phil's arms and cries into his shoulder. 

For a moment, he thinks he can hear Phil crying too.

“Fuck.” He chokes on a sob. 

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re okay.”

“We’re not fucking okay, Phil.” Dan sobs. “What the hell is happening?"

“I don’t know, but we’re safe for now.” He assures him. “Now can you please let me look at your arm?”

Dan turns his arm over and show’s Phil reluctantly, sniffling as he looks down at it properly for the first time. Phil pulls out his phone and turns the flashlight on.

It’s deeper than he originally thought. This realization causes a shock of pain that has him biting his lip and breathing out harshly through his nose.

“Okay, easy. Hey.” Phil says.

Dan removes his shaking hand from where it had been gripping his arm, trying to cut off the circulation as much as possible. He watches as Phil opens the cabinet next to them and pulls out their first aid box.

“Alright, we need to clean this up.” He explains, grabbing the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a piece of cotton “This’ll sting a bit.”

“Then let’s get it over with.” Dan sighs, closing his eyes and reaching out for Phil’s hand. He hadn't thought to ask if he could hold it, but he smiles when He realizes Phil isn’t letting go.

He can hear the sound of the liquid sloshing and the next thing he knows, there’s something pressing against his arm.

It starts at the top of his cut, and he can feel the softness of the cotton there, but not even a second passes before he feels the cool of the liquid and the burning sensation when Phil drags it swiftly down his cut, wiping off as much blood as he can before getting another cotton ball and repeating the process two more times.

Once he’s done, Dan opens his eyes to see him fiddling with a roll of gauze. He quickly finds the end and unravels it, pressing one end against Dan’s arm and then wrapping it around until the whole wound is covered. 

Phil is typically awkward in the way he works, his hands sometimes shaky and his movements not always thought out, but that’s not the case here. Dan can see the worry in his eyes, and he can tell how focused he is.

Phil then grabs a pair of scissors and cuts the other end, grabbing a safety pin to secure it. He asks Dan to bend his arm a couple times to make sure it stays in place, which it does.

“We’re going to have to get that looked at at some point.” Phil says as he places everything back in the box and puts it away, closing the cabinet. “It looks pretty serious.”

“We can’t leave right now.” Dan reminds him. “We don’t know what’s going on out there.”

“I know.” Phil says softly. “But, eventually we have to. Promise me?”

Dan nods, taking Phil’s hands in his.

“I promise.”

Phil pulls him back into a hug, urging him to his feet. They’re a little weak on their feet at first but they stop each other from falling over. Dan doesn’t want to open the door, but he knows they’d be more comfortable in their bed than they would be sitting on a cold, tiled floor.

“It’s okay.” Phil whispers just as Dan turns the knob. “I don’t hear anything.”

The reassurance is enough for Dan to slowly push the door open. Thankfully, the bathroom is adjacent to their room. He doesn’t think twice before following Phil to bed.

Their blankets are warm, and so is Phil. He holds Dan in an embrace from behind as they lay down and stare up at the ceiling blankly, their minds racing. Dan doesn’t even know where to begin, or what to say, but he knows one thing and that’s that neither of them are getting any sleep tonight.

“Hey Phil?” he says after a long period of silence, his voice hoarse from crying.

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared.”

He can feel Phil’s shudder when he says that, and it breaks his heart.

“I’m scared too.” Phil admits, looking down at Dan. 

Dan has so many things he wants to say, but he can’t bring himself to say them. He had thought about what he saw when that girl stood up, the lifelessness in her eyes. The blankness. It was too much for him.

It was like she was undead, but of course he keeps that thought to himself. It’s impossible.

He wonders what Phil is thinking, whether he would agree. Usually, he can tell, but right now he has no idea about anything other than the fact that they’re scared and neither of them have any idea what’s happening. 

Not that it’s a question they’d be able to answer. He can have that existential conversation with Phil another day, right now all he needs to worry about is how they’re going to protect each other.

“I’m fucking terrified.” He whispers. “But I won't let anything happen to you.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you either.” Phil says. “Not that that’s something we can promise.”

Rolling over and closing his eyes, Dan leans his head against Phil’s chest. He chuckles quietly.

“Well, we are anyway.”

-

The night goes by swiftly, with nothing but the sound of an unexpected winter storm rolling through. Dan can’t bring himself to go online or turn on the news. He doesn’t want to face reality yet, whatever it may be.

The sound of wind is harsh and it’s enough to keep both of them awake. They don’t move from their spot on the bed, and they’ve mostly been silent, just listening to the raging snowstorm.

On any other day, Dan wouldn’t mind storms. Now, all he wants is silence.

The sound of Phil breathing next to him is a soothing reminder. He’s too scared of what’s outside to leave his room, or even his bed, but being cared for by Phil and wrapped in his arms makes him feel safe. And it makes him feel loved.

He thinks about many things to pass the time. He thinks about the possible explanations for what they saw, if other people may have seen, if the world knows yet. Mainly, he thinks about the promises they made to each other, and how there’s no telling whether or not they can even keep them.

His ears are trained on the sounds from outside, but his paranoia is too high for him to miss the faint rustling coming from somewhere that’s not outside.

Actually, it’s coming from right outside their bedroom door.

Phil hears it too. He shoots up and tightens his grip around Dan. 

Dan knows that they should do something, that they should hide, grab a weapon, call for help, maybe even report a break in, but he does none of those things.

He just sits there, paralyzed.

It isn’t until the rustling turns into banging at that he and Phil jump out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. They need to hide.

He attempts to turn the handle of the bathroom door, and his heart sinks when it sticks.

“Shit.” Phil whispers harshly. “Is it locked from this inside?”

Dan doesn’t respond. They have nothing to protect themselves with, nowhere to go, and an unknown being on the other side of the door.

The high pitched sound of the wind is ringing in Dan’s ears. The sound of Phil worriedly whispering next to him is faint, as well as the loud cracking sound the door makes when the banging stops. Everything around him is nothing but an echo, and all he can hear is the wind.

They turn around to see the doorknob turning painfully slowly. Dan swears he stops breathing.

When the door opens, he sees the last thing he wanted to see, but the thing he was half-expecting.

The same girl from the store, accompanied by similar looking zombie-like counterparts.

They look even worse than before. Their skin is peeling away to reveal the dark, grey underbelly beneath. They have patches of scarred flesh and cuts and bruises everywhere. Their hair is falling out, and the life is all but drained from their eyes.

It’s the most horrifying sight Dan has ever seen.

He grabs Phil by the arm and backs them into a corner. They move back until they reach the wall. He can hear Phil’s shaky breaths as his hearing comes back, and he takes note of how quiet these undead creatures are.

In fact, the wind seems to be calming down, because all he can hear is the sound of their terrified breaths and his beating heart.

A sound from the other side of his room catches his attention, and he turns to see the bathroom door opening as well, just to reveal more disheveled, former-human beings.

They’re surrounded.

Phil lets out a gasp and a cry next to him as he squeezes Dan’s hand, gluing himself to the wall and backing up as far as he’ll go. Dan does the same, sharing a glance with him that he’ll never forget.

That look of heartbreak in Phil’s eyes. The face of lost hope. The realization of mutually broken promises.

Ones they knew they’d never be able to keep, but made anyway.

He wants to tell Phil that he’s sorry, that he loves him more than anything in the world, that he would do anything if it meant he didn’t have to lose him.

But he never got that chance.

Dan screams as arms of diseased skin grab at Phil and drag him away from the wall. More of them come, and in a matter of seconds Phil’s being restrained and held down by several of them.

“Phil!” He screams. 

He can hear Phil crying out in pain in desperation. He can’t see what’s happening. He feels dizzy and lightheaded, but all he knows is that he needs to get to Phil. He can’t give up on him. He won’t.

Then something grabs him from behind.

“No!”

The texture of decaying flesh is something Dan will never forget. Multiple pairs of hands pull him back as he struggles to get to Phil. 

“Stop, please!” He cries. “Let me get to him!”

Then, in an instant, He watches as Phil stops thrashing and his body goes still.

“No, no no no no.” His chest feels heavy as he cries. Sobs begin to rip out of him, tearing his insides apart as he stares at what he can only assume is his lifeless boyfriend.

He screams. The creatures don’t seem to care, or even be bothered by the noise. It only makes hot anger bubble up from deep inside him, a part of him he never thought he’d ever see. He screams again at the top of his lungs, crying as the worst pain he’s ever felt takes over his body and he falls to the floor.

He can’t tell if the pain he’s feeling is real or not, but whatever pain he felt from seeing Phil like that tops anything else these creatures could do to him. 

There’s a weight on top of him, but he can barely feel it anymore. A numbness starts to take over his body as his struggling stops and all that’s left for him to do is cry.

The last thing he sees are creatures clearing away so that he can clearly see Phil, lying face down on the carpet with a visible pool of blood trickling out from under him, turning the beige carpet into a violent crimson.

Then the colours blur together. The blue of Phil’s shirt, the white of the walls, the red of the blood.

“Phil.” Dan whispers. There’s desperation in his voice, but the realist inside him knows he won’t respond. He’ll never hear Phil’s voice again.

Finally, the sounds of the storm fade away, and Dan’s ears find peace as his vision goes black and he cries softly into the night.

-

When he opens his eyes, he doesn’t feel real.

He’s standing, but he can’t feel his body. He can barely see, and the only thing he seems to be able to make out is the mirror in front of him. The rest of his surroundings are blurry and unclear. His vision is still a little hazy, so he focuses on the mirror.

When he sees his reflection, he looks at himself in horror.

His skin is flaking away, the normal colour replaced with ashy grey. His eyes are puffy from crying and his eyes are dark, no trance of brown to be seen. His hair is white and dead, falling out every bit by bit every time he so much as moves his head. The bandages on his arm are falling off and the gash etched in his skin is surrounded with dried blood. There’s heavy bags under his eyes. It looks as if he hadn’t slept in days.

but the flesh on the inside dried up as well. 

He runs a finger along his forearm, familiarizing himself with the feeling of his own dead body.

Because that’s what he is, isn’t he? He’s dead.

He looks awful. His arms are wrapped around his middle but it does nothing to stop the shivering. What the hell happened to them? 

His whole body is numb. His throat feels dry and his eyes are fighting to fall shut. He won’t let them, not now, but it hurts like hell keeping them open. He wonders where Phil is, if he’s in a similar situation. He’s still conscious somehow, isn’t he? 

Suddenly. It all doesn’t make sense. 

_This isn’t real._ Dan thinks. _It can’t be, I wouldn’t be here if I were actually dead._

He doesn’t know if he’s somehow alive, or just crazy. 

That’s when the image in the mirror falls away from focus, the colours swirling together into a whirlpool of sorts. Dan can’t help but stare into the middle, darkness falling over him once again as he watches his warped reflection disappear.

-

He takes one breath, then two.

He opens his eyes to see his ceiling, and the first thing that registers for him is the pounding of his head.

A headache. Pain. 

He’s alive.

He sits up immediately at the realization to find that he’s in his bed. Everything looks normal, there’s no blood on the carpet, the door is fine, and there’s no storm.

Then he looks down, gasping when he sees his arm.

He runs his fingers over his skin. Clean. No cut. No evidence of everything he had just seen and been through.

Was it all a dream?

That’s when he looks to his side and sees Phil sleeping next to him.

“Oh my god.” He whispers to himself, grasping onto Phil’s arm and shaking him violently. He can already feel the tears forming in his eyes.

“Phil.” He mumbles, unable to believe his eyes as he continues to shake until he hears a groan. “Phil!”

Phil exhales loudly, opening his eyes and looking up at Dan in shock.

“Huh, Dan?” 

He’s about to tell Phil all about his dream, but Phil starts speaking first.

“Holy shit.” He says, grabbing Dan and pulling him in. Dan accepts the hug and chokes down a sob. 

“Are you okay, oh my god.”

Dan’s relief is washed away and replaced by confusion.

_Why is he asking that? Wasn’t it a dream?_

“Wh-what?” Is all he can manage to say.

“It must have been a dream.” Phil says.

_What must have been a dream? What does he mean?_

Phil hugs him again, so tight it might be painful. He doesn’t care, though. Phil is awake and okay, and _god_ he’s never felt more relieved for Phil to be okay.

"What's going on? You okay?" Dan asks.

Phil eases Dan’s arms loose so that he can place his hands under his chin, lifting his head up so that they make eye contact.

Phil traces a finger down his cheek, his touch soothing and grounding.

“I’m okay, I’m just glad you’re safe.” He says, as if he can’t believe it.

Dan still can’t seem to stop shaking, his nightmare fresh in the front of his mind. He never thought the scariest thing he’d ever conjure up in a dream would be...himself.

“I had a dream that I, that I-”

“That you what?” Phil asks softly, taking Dan’s hands in his. “Dan, hey look at me. It’s okay.”

Tears are streaming down his face. He doesn’t want to think about anything other than how warm his body is and how safe he makes him feel.

"You're okay, you're okay." Phil whispers over and over again, rubbing his hand up and down Dan’s back. "We're okay."

“There were these people chasing us.” He explains. “Undead, I think. ”It felt so real and I th- I thought you died. I watched you die. I watched them take you from me-”

“Shh, shh.” Phil cuts him off, rubbing a hand down his back.

Dan wants nothing more than to just write all of it off as a dream, but he’s finding it harder and harder to do that with the way Phil is acting. Phil just holds him close, breathing slowly.

“I can’t believe it.” Is what he whispers then. “I had the same dream.”

“What?” Dan breathes.

“Did you cut your arm?” He asks, the question causing Dan’s mind to blank entirely.

His arm. He cut his arm, but it was a dream. Except Phil knows about it.

How could he possibly know?

Dan just gapes at him, only able to muster a nod. He shows his arm only to remember that the cut is gone. Phil looks puzzled.

“It’s gone.” He whispers under his breath.

Phil doesn’t seem to be sure what to say after that. He looks Dan up and down as if he’s waiting for something to happen.

“What if it was real?” Dan asks. “I mean-”

“No.” Phil says, shaking his head. “It can’t be. Your cut is gone, we’re alive.”

Phil’s reassurance isn’t helping. Dan’s breath staggers as he tries to breathe, his memory flashing with images of Phil’s dead body, of his _own_ dead body.

It was too real to not be real.

“But the blood was real. It was all real, I-I felt it. I saw it.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Phil whispers softly. “It’s okay.”

His brain begins to fill in the blank as he hugs Phil.

They were dead, at least that’s what Dan had thought. He remembers what dying felt like, what losing Phil felt like. It was all so vivid and specific, that there was no doubt in his mind.

But then he woke up. Unharmed. Evidence gone. His cut is gone, but Phil remembers it being there. He knew to ask as Dan was describing his dream to him.

They must have had the same dream. There’s no other possible explanation.

"Do you think…" Dan starts, trailing off when he struggles to put it into words.

"Do I think what?" Phil asks.

“Do you think that we had the exact same dream? Is that even possible?”

Phil thinks for a moment, letting go of Dan so he can look at him again.

“It’s definitely more possible then whatever the fuck that was that we just experienced.”

Dan can’t help but laugh at that. He is right, after all. It’s much more plausible than them surviving that actual apocalypse.

"Well” Phil shrugs. “there's only one way to know for sure." 

-

They stand at the entrance of the shop where it all started. Staring through a solid window, Dan breathes a sigh of relief, mixed with laughter. Phil squeezes his hand, and Dan can see a tear rolling slowly down his cheek.

They exchanged more detailed recountings of their dreams while they walked, becoming more and more aware of the fact that the world is in fact, normal, and that their dreams were in fact, perfectly similar.

“Okay we proved your theory.” He says. “It really was a dream.”

"Yeah.” Phil chuckles. “I still don’t believe it though.”

“What does this mean then?” 

“Maybe that we’re telepathic?”

“Oh hush.” Dan laughs. 

“We could be!” Phil insists. “What if this means we were meant to be or something.”

“Oh don’t start with your soulmate crap.” Dan teases, poking him in the side.

They walk side by side in silence for a while, taking in the surroundings of a perfectly non-apocalyptic world. They sit down on a bench to watch the people go by, still holding hands, paying no mind to the occasional stares.

"I'm never going back in there ever again." Dan says, breaking the silence. He doesn’t need to specify what he means for Phil, he knows.

"Same." Phil agrees.

Dan leans over, resting his head on Phil’s shoulder.

"Hey, Phil?" He asks.

"Hm?" Phil hums, wrapping his hand around Dan’s waist.

"Can we go home?"

Phil smiles, standing up and reaching out to take Dan’s hand and help him up as well.

"Yeah. Let's go home."

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr (@squishdaniel)


End file.
